SUE'S BLOG...
Undated, 2010
Untitled
As a resident of Mississauga, I feel I have to comment on the incident involving a City employee and the “hazing” of other employees in our Transportation and Works Department. All of us on Council at the City of Mississauga are disgusted and appalled by what we saw in the media on Tuesday night.
The physical and mental abuse of another human being, which was evident on the video that portrayed a City of Mississauga employee being duck taped, was very hard to watch.
What was even more shocking to me was this was the first time I was made aware of this situation by senior management. We were not briefed of this situation, nor did we have any details of what happened prior to the media reporting on the incident.
We were also not involved in any disciplinary actions and decisions taken against the culprits behind this unacceptable act. We, as Council members, don’t normally step into staff disciplinary issues, however, when something of this magnitude happens I expect to be consulted. I find this just as unacceptable as the incident itself.
I have received numerous e-mails from residents wondering why this employee is still in fact an employee of the City of Mississauga. All I can say is, I feel the same way you do.
As you can imagine, I had the same questions that many of my residents had: “Why was this employee not immediately fired?” “What is wrong with our policy’s and workplace training that something like this could even happen?”
Quoting directly from the City of Mississauga’s Respectful Workplace Policy, which states that “no form of discrimination, harassment, bullying or violence will be tolerated”, we, as an employer and a city, have to make this a valid statement. What message are we sending if part of the action we took was a “stern warning to the employees involved”.
Maybe it’s time we take an in depth look at our policies and the action we take as a corporation. I think I speak for many employees (and even residents) who may be a little intimidated to say that if a “stern warning to the employees involved” is all you get for duck taping people, then how can we truly say that “no form of discrimination, harassment, bullying or violence will be tolerated” at the City of Mississauga.
In conclusion, it has to be noted that 99.99 per cent of City of Mississauga employees are some of the greatest and most respectful people you could ever work with. I know, because I work with many of them!